Joseph was my best friend. He was the only son of Adam Tan, a well-known former player. So many people expected Joseph to be as sporting as his father. But it was not true.

He suffered from asthma (哮喘) and preferred to stay indoors to read books. But everything changed on the first death anniversary of his father. He was laughed at by his classmates. They had called him loser, remarking that he was a disgrace (耻辱) to his father. He lost his control and fought with them. Of course, he lost. From that day on, Joseph devoted himself to building up his body. He exercised and turned his attention and efforts to sports. He said to himself that he would not let his father down.

Joseph joined the sports team in my school and became its leader. We were all excited when we learned that the school had planned a hiking a Kalimantan, Indonesia. It was also meant to be in memory of Joseph’s father, who was its former adviser (顾问).

The hiking really tested the strength and skills of the team. Though we had the help of our two teacher advisers, we were determined to succeed in the hiking which was to cross a mountain, river and forest. The last stage was the forest and we were within sight of our target. We had only four more kilometers to cover. If we succeeded within the required time, we would be the first school team to have done that in record.

However, Joseph experienced his asthma. We noticed at first that he was falling behind us. When we asked him whether he had any problem, he gave us the thumbs up sign. Just before the last kilometer his team-mate, Shafiq, noticed his hard breathing. His face was pale and Shafig signaled (示意) us to stop walking. We gathered around Joseph anxiously and forced him to stop and rest.

In a small town, there lived a young girl named Emily. She had a deep passion for table tennis and dreamed of becoming a professional player. Despite her young age, she was determined to work hard and make her dream come true.

From the moment when Emily picked up a table tennis paddle, she was impressed by the sport. She spent every spare moment practicing her shots, focusing on her footwork and mastering different techniques. Each time she stepped on the court, she was eager to improve and pushed herself to the limit. Unluckily, Emily faced a visual impairment (缺陷) that threatened to slow her progress. She was born with a condition that affected her sight. Some people doubted her ability to play table tennis and said, “Emily, your impairment is a disadvantage. It is impossible to play table tennis well!”

But Emily refused to let their doubts consume her. With solid determination, Emily turned her impairment into strength. She used her other heightened senses to her advantage, relying on touch and sound to anticipate her opponents’ moves. While others relied on sight, she developed an incredible sense of intuition (直觉) and strategy.

Emily finally excelled in table tennis, achieving incredible milestones and representing her town in many competitions. She became an advocate of the sport in her town. However, Emily decided not to settle for winning in her comfort zone but to challenge for something higher. She joined a training team guided by a world-class coach, which brought together the world’s top table tennis players.

In the training team, Emily went through a series of trials. She carried out high-intensity training. She needed to improve not only the batting skills but also perseverance and the sense of teamwork. Her coach often encouraged her and said, “Anyone, regardless of ability, could find success.”

A few years later, Emily’s efforts paid off. She got her chance. As a member of the national team, she took part in an important international competition. That was the stage for her to show her skills, and it was also the important moment for her to realize her dream.

In the competition, Emily found herself facing a strong opponent, Lily.

After the competition, Emily’s story spread throughout the table tennis community.

My son Joey was born with disabled feet. The doctors assured us that with treatment he would be able to walk normally — but would never run very well. The first three years of his life were spent in surgery, casts and braces. By the time he was eight, you wouldn’t know he had a problem when you saw him walk.

The children in our neighborhood ran around as most children do during play, and Joey would jump right in and run and play, too. Although I was a little worried about his state, we never told him that he probably wouldn’t be able to run as well as the other children. So he didn’t know it. Every day after school, he would run and jump crazily, laughing cheerfully with his friends. Before bed, he was delighted to share everything that he enjoyed with me, and the brightness on his face drove away all my anxiety.

In his seventh grade, the school planned to hold a cross-country race. On hearing the news, he jumped with joy, and he decided to go out for the cross-country team. What worried me most was the extreme strength and patience that was required for the race. However, his strong determination eventually changed my attitude towards the event. I made up mind to be in favor of him. Every day he trained with the team. He worked harder and ran more than any of the others — perhaps he sensed that the abilities that seemed to come naturally to so many others did not come naturally to him. Although the entire team runs, only the top seven runners have the potential to score points for the school. We didn’t tell him he probably would never make the team, so he didn’t know.

One day, he got a fever, and I advised him to have a rest.

Two weeks later, the big day came.